Monsters or soldiers?
by 999Shikaku999
Summary: Some people say the Gundam Pilots are monsters, others say they are heroes and then there are people who simply see them as soldiers. This is how I look at them.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Pilots.

Anywayz… Just something I had to write because I couldn't get it out of my head.

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_**The Gundam Pilots: monsters or soldiers?**_

A lot has been said about the Gundam Pilots and opinions often differ. Some would say that the Gundam Pilots are monsters who violently took away our loved ones; others say they were the most amazing people ever to have walked the earth. Then there are people who see them as just soldiers among soldiers, fighting for their place in the world.

To determine whether they are monsters or soldiers one must first know the difference. A soldier is someone who kills because he has to in order to survive. A soldier regrets what he has done and it will haunt him for the rest of his life. Had there been another way, the soldier would take it for none of the soldiers enjoy taking lives.

The monster however, kills for sensation, simply for the pure thrill of killing. Regret is foreign to a monster. Monsters are the kind of things that rape and murder little children to satisfy themselves, simply because the little girl, five years old, was flirting with them. Monsters are the kind of things that cut up human beings and save their remains in the fridge to savour the moment.

It is true that they have killed a lot of people, but what can you expect when at war? If you want to blame anyone blame humanity, for it is mankind itself that causes these wars and each and every one of them begins with the hunger for power. Hunger for power means invading and confiscating that which belongs to others instead of sharing which forms the rebel soldiers that have no other option left then to fight. They fight against tyranny, hopelessly fighting a lost battle against the nature of mankind. Mankind blames these soldiers for the lives that are taken.

I read something a while ago and it made me think. In all of these wars, mankind vs. mankind, propaganda is made to kill the enemy. But who is the enemy? After all, you are fighting to protect your family and your country but is 'the enemy' not in fact doing the same? What have they done to you? Do they somehow have less right to live? The Gundam Pilots are only human, just like the rest of us. I wonder if those who accuse them so easily have ever thought about what they would have done in their place.

Truth be told I think the Gundam Pilots are not monsters, they are human beings just like the rest of us and have been forced by circumstances in a war which almost mainly consists out of losing battles. And yet they survive. They do what everyone wishes they could be capable of doing and I think they should be an example to mankind.

To stand up and fight for what you believe in, no matter what, to hold on when all hope seems lost and to continue to fight even when those you were fighting for betray you. That is what makes an honourable human being.

The lives they have taken were mostly soldiers who chose to fight, therefore choosing their fate. The other casualties were human errors, though regretful the past cannot be changed. Life can be compared to a book being written, though the past has already been written, the future is a blank page.

The future can be changed, whatever you will do in the future will be decided by you. Learning from past mistakes makes a better future. Besides, I am confident that those who have died would regret dying, but would not blame the pilots. The only way the pilots could be blamed is if they had consciously killed those people. I know that it is not much of a comfort, but I know that if I were one of the casualties I would not blame them.

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I know most must be sick of my philosophical rambling by now and want some proof that the Gundam Pilots are soldiers and not monsters. However to know that one must know the pilots, one cannot judge a person one does not know. Now in my case I have, let us just say feedback information.

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When one speaks of 01 the term kamikaze pilot comes to mind. Kamikaze, though an often used term, does not mean suicide; that would be hara-kiri. This Pilot I am sure is the most feared of all because you never know when he is going to blow himself up again. Now one could say that such a pilot could not possibly be sane. This particular Pilot was trained to be an assassin from when he was little. He never knew the true meaning of family.

Once upon a time this Pilot went on a mission. When he set off the bombs he had planted something he could not have foreseen happened. A mobile suit crashed into another sending it straight into a house that resided close by. The little girl, who had been so nice him earlier, was killed along with her little puppy. When he returned he had been so affected that his superiors were ordered to get rid of his emotions. He has never stopped regretting what he has done.

This Pilot also killed Marshall Noventa; that is a known fact. What people do not know is that after that he went to find his family members seeking some sort of repentance for what he had done by giving them the opportunity to kill him, for it was the only way he knew how. And they forgave him, for they knew it was what Marshall Noventa would have done and would have wanted, after all the young man still had so much to offer the world. This faith in him proved to be justified; after all, did he not help stop the war?

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And then there is 02, a.k.a. the God of Death. Someone who has lost everyone he once cared about. First he lost friends who were like family due to an epidemic, then the only real home he ever had due to soldiers who found it necessary to destroy a church which harboured orphans.

This is a Pilot who still has a dream, who can simply enjoy watching the moon. He is very chivalrous and is always willing to help damsels in distress. He once even saved one of the recruits from the colonies who was about to get killed in her allies line of fire, they were willing to sacrifice her in order to get to him.

He saved her because he believed they were on the same side, they were both fighting for the colonies. Later on she helped them by bringing information on Libra to them and he saved her life again and ensured that she got medical attention. I can see why people are so convinced that he is a monster.

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And of course we must not leave out 03. Lions tend to know who their enemy is and yet none see this Pilot as an enemy. This Pilot has been a nameless soldier ever since he can remember. He knows nothing but battle.

Until he goes undercover and meets people that start to show him what life could be. He saved a woman from certain death by shielding her with his Gundam to protect her when she walked straight into his enemies' line of fire. After 01 blew himself up, 03 took it upon him the task to take care of 01.

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Then we have 04. Now something that for some reason not everybody seems to know about this Pilot is that he has a heart of gold. He gives people the opportunity to surrender peacefully.

Even when he is fully pushed over the edge by circumstances, in combination with a very dangerous program that takes over ones mind, destroys a couple of colonies, he still gives everyone the opportunity to flee. You see, the Gundam he was in could not have possibly been detected until it was too late and everyone on the colony would have died.

In fact communication records show that the Pilot announced that he was going to destroy the colony and that those who wished to stay alive should leave. Those that were killed with the colonies were the soldiers that remained to fight, once again the ones that chose their own fate. This proves nothing matters more to this pilot than saving the lives of innocent people. In fact, one of the other Pilots once said that one day he was going to blame his lack of effort for the fact that there is no air in space.

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The last of the five Gundam Pilots is 05. This Pilot hates indirect approaches for he fights with honour. He also does not kill or injure women, he proved this when he spared the life of a certain lieutenant because she was a woman.

Also he believes the weak should not fight for they will only get themselves killed. He returns favours, one time he assisted the rebels because they had treated him well and would have died otherwise.

This soldier didn't even want to fight at first, but now he seeks justice for the deaths of his wife and clan. He most certainly does not believe in slaughtering people to achieve one's objective. Now what kind of monster do you know that lives by the code of honour?

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Not to mention the fact that everyone on Earth owes these five Pilots for not going through with the original operation meteor, for saving billions of innocent lives. Instead they targeted Oz alone. Another thing people may not know is that they did not target any civilian buildings and did not target just any alliance base but those which were a key factor to Oz, an organization hiding within the alliance waiting for a chance to overthrow the alliance and assume power.

Oz has always been a devious organization. People who knew the past of this organization would never have accepted it so gratefully. However as time passed these people had been replaced by younger people, who had not seen what the organization was capable of.

Oz was responsible for the assassination of Heero Yuy, the pacifist. Oz was also responsible for the death of Marshall Noventa and those who wanted peace. You see, Oz had spread the rumour that instead of the pacifists the top officials of Oz were gathering to lure the Gundam Pilots. Then as they arrived at the base, the leader of Oz offered his shuttle to Marshall Noventa and the others. The pilot of 01 identified the shuttle as being an Oz shuttle and destroyed it believing that the officials from Oz had been fleeing.

But it does not end there, they tried to trap the Gundams and while they were fighting Oz was about to lose the battle. So they threatened to destroy all of the colonies with the missiles that had already been aimed at them if the Gundam pilots did not surrender. The Gundams stopped fighting. Then a man appeared on the screen, saying that he could not believe how far Oz was willing to go and ordered his Gundam Pilot to stand down but not to let them get their hands on his Gundam to which the pilot promptly complied.

Shocking friend and foe 01 blew himself up without hesitation, gaining respect from even the enemy. Also Oz has proved to be more than willing to sacrifice its own to get to rebels. It is a small price they are willing to pay in order to be victorious.

Now whose side are you on?

Can you honestly say you believe the Gundam pilots to be monsters?

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Please review and let me know what you think.


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